War for Equestria Episode I: Accruing Alliances
by chillbook1
Summary: An orphaned Earth Pony who wants to discover who killed her parents. A unicorn supremacist who wants to regain his rightful property. Scarlet and Virgo fight on different sides for different reasons, but they have the same goals. These warring clansmen may be diametrically opposed, but their destinies are intertwined.
1. Chapter 1

The filly struggled in her bindings, screaming helplessly for the mother she knew could not hear. Scarlet Force pulled at the ropes tying her to the huge wooden stake, trying her best not to look in front of her. No child wants to look at their mother's corpse, after all. The only reason Scarlet was moving at all was because she could still hear her mother's last words, ringing in her ear and bouncing through her skull. It was an order, a request, one that Scarlet promised to fulfill. Scarlet Force was so focused on escaping that she never noticed the three stallions step before her, one with a knife, one with a burning torch, and the last with a rope connected to a goat and cow. The cow was led and settled to Scarlet's left, the goat to her right.

"We offer to you, oh powerful Maker, our finest cow! May his sacrifice please you!" shouted the stallion with the knife, looking to the heavens. He brought the knife to the cows throat and slowly dragged, muttering as he did. The cow gurgled and dropped to the ground, dead. The stallion stepped over the cow and brought his knife to the goat.

"We offer to you, oh powerful Maker, our finest goat! May his sacrifice please you!" bellowed the stallion. He slit the goat's neck just as he did the cow's, muttering a strange phrase that Scarlet couldn't understand even if she heard it. The stallion finally brought the bloody knife to Scarlet Force, still struggling, still sobbing, still fighting. He pressed the knife against her throat, muttering the same phrase.

"We offer to you, oh powerful Maker, a child of two sinners! May it's sacrifice please you!" shouted the stallion. "May her soul rest with her makers: in the depths of hell!"

Blood spurted outwards, splattering against Scarlet's face. The little filly gasped at the arrow sticking from her captor's neck, the arrow from nowhere. The stallion fell to the ground, as did one of the others who captured Scarlet. Like the first, the second was a victim of a sudden arrow in his throat. The last captor rushed for the knife and pressed it against Scarlet's neck, determined to finish the ritual.

A sharp lavender blade pierced the stallion's chest. The pony wielding it ripped her blood-soaked weapon from her victim's chest, and kicked him to the ground. She wiped the blood from her blade onto her light purple armor and slid her sword into a sheath on her hip. The mare removed her helmet to let her straight-cut, deep purple mane blow in the wind. Scarlet Force couldn't keep her eyes off of the light pink highlight in her savior's mane. The mare, a unicorn, used her horn to untie Scarlet from her prison. The filly fell to the ground and scurried to her mother's fallen figure.

"Mommy!" cried Scarlet.

"Yelling about her won't bring her back." said the mare. "Nothing will."

"Mommy." repeated Scarlet. She nudged her mother's fallen body, stirring the pool of blood congregating around her neck.

"You got a name, kid?" asked the mare.

"S-scarlet. Scarlet Force." said Scarlet. The mare hovered the bloody sacrificial knife into Scarlet's hand.

"It's not safe here. Hold onto that knife and, if it comes down to it, use it." said the mare. She replaced her helmet, which covered most of her face. All that could be seen through the gaps in the purple steel were eyes, a nose, and a mouth.

"Why did they do it?" asked Scarlet. The mare smiled grimly and in spite of herself. She knew it was inappropriate, but she couldn't help herself.

"I like the way you think. You ask the right kind of questions." said the mare. "Your kidnappers were from Solar-Maria. They thought your parents were one of mine, which they weren't."

"Solar-Maria? What's that?" asked Scarlet Force. She forced herself to continue the conversation. If the mare left, Scarlet just knew something terrible would happen.

"How old are you? Five? Six?" asked the mare. She disregarded her own question. If Scarlet didn't know anything, she must've been young. Too young for this. "The Solar-Maria is a clan of ponies who want to rule Equestria. I'm part of the clan that's going to stop them: The Sparkle Hearts. Look, I have other things to do, so I have to go. You shouldn't have any trouble on your way to the next town. I killed all the Marias on the way here. Go, find a job, get some bits, and make a difference."

"How?" asked Scarlet.

"I can't tell you that. You have to discover your destiny on your own. But, if I were you…" said the mare. "You can't bring your parents back, but you can avenge them. If you really want to make a difference in this world, come find us. Help us win a war." The mare turned to leave the same way she came. Scarlet grabbed her around the waist and hung on for dear life. The mare swung her hips and kicked in frustration, but Scarlet didn't budge.

"Wait! Who are you?" asked Scarlet. "You seem really young to be in a war!"

"I am fifteen years old, and I'm already a lieutenant colonel of The Sparkle Hearts." bragged the mare. "Lt. Col. Twilight Sparkle. And I said I would join if I were you, when the truth is, I was you. I watched my parents die, too. Will you follow the same path I did? Or will you make the wrong call?"

With that, Twilight shrouded her entire body with purple light. She vanished with a pop of energy, one that threw Scarlet back a couple of yards. Scarlet sat on her back and sobbed, thinking of her mother, dead in front of her, and her father, dead who-knows-where. She suddenly remembered her promise to her mother, a promise that consumed her entire life from that moment on.

"Survive." her mother had said. "Survive, no matter what."

* * *

><p><em>Ten Years Later<em>

Scarlet stared into the clean, clear pond, taking in her own reflection. Her coat, muddy red, and her tattered tunic was matted with sweat and dirt. Her short, spiky, windswept mane was just as red and just as dirty. Even her soft orange eyes seemed faded and tired. Scarlet was exhausted, near the point of fainting. Still, she could not stop until she managed to get the hang of her power.

Scarlet stared at the huge stones sitting at the bottom of the lake. They were giant, many times larger and heavier than herself, and their faces were smooth and flat. No fourteen year-old Earth Pony filly would be able to lift the stone. None but Scarlet, that is. She looked to her flank, at the Cutie Mark of three black arrows pointing down and three white arrows pointing up. The arrows intertwined, like a set of mix-matched teeth.

"Okay, Scar. You got this." she said to herself. She stared at the stones at the bottom of the lake, and felt her body get lighter. It felt as if all of her weight shifted down to her hooves, leaving the rest of her to float, tethered to the ground. Scarlet felt a familiar crackling run through her, from the tip of her nose to the end of her short, choppy tail.

The pond began to ripple, and the air around it seemed to vanish. All around Scarlet was stiff and suffocating. She felt herself begin to choke, but she couldn't stop there. She shoved upwards with her mind. The color faded from the surrounding greenery, from the water and sky. All became gray to Scarlet as she felt herself rise higher, yet never leaving the ground. Her vision doubled and blurred, and she felt as if she could fall over. Scarlet heaved one last time, and it finally happened.

The water began to ripple more furiously. A huge chunk of the water's surface separated into baseball-sized droplets, which slowly began to rise into the air. The stone followed, slowly and aimlessly floating from the pond. The stones rose to about Scarlet's head, and she was hit with a mix of feelings. Pride, excitement, exhaustion, just to name a few.

_SPLASH!_

The stone dropped down into the pond unceremoniously, sending out a splattering of water. By the time the water hit Scarlet's face, she was already unconscious. She fell, face first, into the cold, crisp water. Water rushed into Scarlet's open mouth, flowing through her and entering her lungs. She let out a cough, and struggled to return to consciousness. She managed to wake herself up, but it was too late. Scarlet could do no more than kick and struggle, when an arm wrapped itself around her middle. After a great heave, Scarlet rose out of the pond and landed on the cold, grey dirt surrounding the freezing pool of water.

"This is a rather bleak place to drown, don't you think?" said Scarlet's savior. Scarlet took a glance, and instantly felt familiar. There was something about the mare's purple coat and straight-cut mane, her lavender armor and pink highlight, that resonated with Scarlet, as if they had met before.

"Thanks." said Scarlet. "You saved my life."

"Yeah. I did. Don't make me have to do it twice." said the mare. "You got a name, kid?" Instantly, Scarlet remembered the mare. Memories of their meeting, and of years of search, came flooding back to Scarlet.

"Twilight!" she squealed. Twilight looked confused, trying to piece together the puzzle of the little filly.

"That's interesting. My name is Twilight as well."

"No, I mean you're Twilight. Lt. Col. Twilight!" said Scarlet.

"General, now. Do I know you?" asked Twilight.

"You saved my life ten years ago."

"I saved a lot of lives ten years ago. Be more specific." said Twilight.

"You saved me from some Solar-Marias. They were going to sacrifice me, but you saved me!" said Scarlet. "You saved my life twice."

"Well, in that case, don't make me do it three times. Do you have a home?" asked the general.

"Not exactly. I kinda squat in that village up north. I think it's called Ponyville." said Scarlet.

"How do you get by?" asked Twilight.

"I'm a thief. I go around the village and I take from ponies who can afford to lose some." said Scarlet. "I'm not living large, but I'm living, right? Wait, you're not gonna turn me in, are you?"

"I'm a general of the Sparkle Heart clan. We're based in the Crystal Empire, and our jurisdiction ends long before we reach here. The occurrences of your little Ponyville village is of no concern to me." answered Twilight. "Unless you're making sacrifices to the Maker, I don't care."

"If you don't care, why did you come all the way down here?" asked Scarlet.

"I'm working. Remember when I said I was a general? Well, that tends to give me reasons to be busy." said Twilight. "I'm looking for somepony."

"A friend?" asked Scarlet.

"A comrade. She went missing somewhere around here. I have another squadmate looking on the other end of the forest. We've been searching for hours, and we still haven't found her." Scarlet's eyes suddenly grew brighter. She crackled with excitement, and her eyes shone with purpose.

"I might be able to help you." she said. "Nopony knows the Everfree Forest better than I do. I can help you find your friend."

"Comrade. I don't have any friends." growled Twilight. "Friendship leads to protection, protection leads to failure, and failure leads to death. But, yeah, if you can help me, we're even."

"Come on, then! She's probably near Rambling Rock Ridge." said Scarlet. She grabbed Twilight's hand, much to her dismay, and began to lead the general through the dark, dangerous Everfree Forest. Scarlet dragged Twilight through the deep, twisting, gnarling Forest, the Forest that was forbidden by the village elders. Scarlet never paid the laws of the village any attention. She was hardly a citizen, she wasn't even sure of the place's name. Ponyville sounded about right, but she wasn't too sure.

"What does your friend look like?" asked Scarlet.

"My _comrade_, and I will not say it again, is a pegasus." said Twilight, finally yanking her hand from Scarlet's grasp. "A pegasus mare, about five feet, eleven inches tall. Pink mane, blue eyes, yellow coat."

"What's her name?"

"She's called Fluttershy. Lt. Col. Fluttershy of the Sparkle Hearts." answered Twilight. "She's saved my life plenty of times. When we were only cadets, we got lost in the woods. I was almost mauled to death by a bear, but she saved me. As it turns out, she can communicate with animals."

"So, you are friends, then?" said Scarlet. Just as Twilight was about to begin arguing her case to the contrary, they arrived at Rambling Rock Ridge. To their left was a huge boulder, so large that Scarlet would have to stand on Twilight's shoulders to even come close to the top. Near the base of the stone was an armored mare, huddled around something. Scarlet couldn't see much of the mare, just her poofy pink tail.

"Lt. Col. Pinkamena, right?" asked Twilight stepping to the mare. Pinkamena abruptly shot up straight and brought her hand to her forehead in salute. She twirled to face Twilight, and Scarlet got a glimpse of her light pink coat.

"Sir, yes, sir!" shouted Pinkamena.

"As you were." ordered Twilight. "Any luck?"

"Well… I found her, but I don't know if that counts as luck." said Pinkamena.

"Why wouldn't it?" asked Scarlet.

"Who are you?"

"Don't worry about it. What do you mean, soldier?" asked Twilight. Pinkamena simply took a step to the left, to show what she was huddled around.

A mare with a light pink mane, done over her eye, was lying with blood pooling around her legs. The stone sat on her lower body, which was entirely crushed. Blood dripped from Lt. Col. Fluttershy's mouth, and her eyes were closed and unmoving.

"Oh my god…" gasped Scarlet. "Is she… dead?"

"No. She's alive, but not for long." reported Pinkamena. "I've been tending to her as best I could, but if we don't get her to an actual doctor soon…"

"Rise and shine, Fluttershy!" shouted Twilight. "Now is not the time to take a nap." Slowly, Fluttershy's eyes fell open. Her eyes were bloodshot, and it was clear that she had been crying for quite a while.

"General Twilight." coughed Fluttershy. "I'm sorry that I can't salute. I can't really move."

"Fluttershy, I'm going to be frank with you." said Twilight. "You're going to die."

"Twilight!" yelped Scarlet. She jumped to Fluttershy's side. "Don't listen to her. You'll be okay."

"Fluttershy, you know what I have to do." said Twilight. She ripped a knife from a sheath on her hip. "You've been a damn fine soldier."

"Coming from you, ma'am, that means the world." said Fluttershy.

"Wait! What are you doing?" asked Scarlet.

"I'm going to slit her throat." said Twilight. She pressed the knife to Fluttershy's throat and sighed. "Lt. Col. Fluttershy of the Sparkle Hearts, on the fourteenth day of the eleventh month of the Maker's seven-hundredth year, has fallen outside of the field of battle. Her death will be remembered, as will her contribution and loyalty to her cause. She will rest with the Maker, and we hope to join her one day."

"No!" shouted Scarlet. She grabbed Twilight around the wrist and pulled the knife from Fluttershy. Even though she was taken aback, Twilight could not help but marvel at the little filly's strength.

"Back off, kid." snarled Twilight.

"How can you even think about… Ugh! Help her!" said Scarlet forcefully.

"I am helping her. We can't save her from dying, but we can save her from suffering." said Twilight.

"You're a unicorn! Move the rock!" ordered Scarlet. Twilight yanked her hand out of Scarlet's grasp, with much effort.

"Don't they teach you kids about unicorn magic in school?" asked Twilight.

"I've never been to school." said Scarlet. Twilight ignored the stab of strangeness in her chest (she later understood that it was pity), and continued her rant.

"Unicorn magic is proportional to physical strength. The average unicorn can only levitate an object that they can lift on their own, maybe a little heavier. Specifically, the average unicorn can levitate only 1.3 times their own strength." said Twilight. "I can levitate five times my own strength, but even I won't be able to raise the rock. She's dead no matter how you slice it."

"No! I won't let you kill her!" said Scarlet. She threw her arms across Fluttershy, not hearing the tiny yelp of pain from the injured pegasus.

"Look, kid, I don't expect you to understand, so I'll try to explain the best I can." said Twilight. "We have three options here. Option A: We push the rock off of Fluttershy. We might, and that's a huge 'might', we might be able to push it off of her, but her legs will be mangled, bleeding, and probably infected. We carry her all the way to our base. She bleeds out before we make it halfway."

"Why can't we bring her to Ponyville?! We can make it, with plenty of time!" exclaimed Scarlet. It was Pinkamena who debunked her argument.

"The Ponyvillians won't help us." she said. "They're staying unaligned in this war, and they won't help a Sparkle Heart. The Marias will take that as a sign of their allegiance to us."

"Option B: We leave her here, head to our nearest base and gather a group of forty or more unicorns, however many it'll take to raise the boulder." continued Twilight. "It'll take us three days to get there and three to get back. Marias patrol this area every two days. They'll find Fluttershy, and torture her for information that she won't give up. Option C: I slit her throat now. She doesn't have to suffer anymore, she won't be tortured, and the Hearts are still protected."

"Or…" said Scarlet, rising to her hooves. "We can go with Option… Whatever comes after 'C'."

"Which is?" asked Pinkamena.

"I move the rock and we rush to your base. We get there and she lives." said Scarlet.

"Good plan. Only problem is that you're a nine year-old Earth Pony." said Twilight. "If I can't lift it with my magic, how do you expect to do it without anything?"

"I'm fourteen, and I'm not just gonna lift it. I'm gonna save your friend's life." said Scarlet. She placed her palms against the rock and concentrated. Her chest, arms, and head began to float, tethered to her legs which were firmly planted to the ground. Every breath she sucked in was thick, gelatinous, and sharp. All color vanished from Scarlet's view. She pushed up with her mind, with her soul.

The rock slowly began to rise into the air. It drifted to the left, then to the right, wobbling through the sky as it rose higher and higher. Pinkamena and Twilight looked on in shock, and Fluttershy let out a gasp (Scarlet hoped it was a gasp of joy, not pain).

"Move her! Now!" shouted Scarlet. Her vision was blurring, doubling. "I don't know how long I can hold it!"

Twilight grabbed Fluttershy's wrists, and Pinkamena grabbed her around the ankles. They pulled Fluttershy to safety just as Scarlet's rock smashed back to the ground.

"Whoo!" shrieked Scarlet, with a huge, goofy smile painted across her face. "How's that for ya, Twilight? More than five times your strength?"

"You didn't levitate it." said Twilight. She grabbed Fluttershy and threw her over her back in a fireman's carry. "You removed all gravity in the surrounding area. Much harder, and also much less useful. Not to mention impossible for an Earth Pony. Explain yourself."

"I… am going to puke." said Scarlet. Her smile grew even wider, and she fell face first onto the cold, hard stone.

"Pinkamena, please grab the girl." said Twilight. "And double time. Fluttershy isn't going to last long if we sit around here." And with that, Pinkie hefted Scarlet over her shoulder and they began the journey to the Crystal Empire.


	2. Chapter 2

The Earth Pony mare yanked at the ropes around her wrists one last time before deciding that she couldn't escape. She could feel the fear radiating from the other Earth Ponies in front of her and behind her, all tied in a single file line. The mare didn't know where she was going, nor did she knew who had put her into her bonds. She looked to the mare behind her, who was looking around in fear and confusion as well.

"Hey. What's happening?" said the first mare.

"I don't know." said the second. "They took my babies… Have you seen them? Please, tell me they're okay."

"I heard one of them say that the children were in a separate caravan." said the first mare. "They took my daughter… I'm so scared."

"I don't know about you, but I can't just sit here and wait. My name is Sweetie Drops." said the second mare. "If we work together, maybe we can break free."

"I'm Cheerilee. I'm with you." said the first mare. "There's way more of us than them. If we spread the word, we can overtake them and get our babies back!"

Sweetie Drops nodded and turned to send the plan down the line, when a blue hand gripped her around the throat. The unicorn gripped her throat tightly, digging his fingers into her neck. The line stopped abruptly, and everypony stared at the unicorn, at his gold-tipped head of spiky blue hair, at his burned orange eyes, like the setting sun. He was missing a huge chunk of his right ear.

"There will be no working together, filth." said the unicorn. "If you want to see your children again, I suggest you keep your mouths shut." Just then, Sweetie Drops burst into tears, followed by Cheerilee, and the other Earth Ponies in the line.

"Please!" begged Sweetie Drops. "Who are you? Where are you taking us? Where are our husbands and children?"

"I am Lieutenant Colonel Virgo of the Solar-Maria. I'm taking you to some buyers, and your husbands are dead." listed the unicorn, Virgo. "Your children are safe, for now. If you don't keep moving, I will make sure that changes." The Earth Ponies suddenly fell silent. Sweetie Drops couldn't do much more than stare at her captor, with fear, with hate.

"Why? Why are you doing this to us?" asked Sweetie Drops.

"This is the order of the world. This is the Maker's will." said Virgo. Cheerilee scoffed, and was met with the back of Virgo's hand to her face.

"Are you implying that you know the Maker's will better than I?" asked Virgo.

"The Maker would never approve of this!" cried Cheerilee. "Do you really believe that she wants you to sell and kill people?"

"No, I don't. That's why I'm not killing or selling any people. I'm killing and selling Earth Ponies." said Virgo. "If you don't start moving, I will kill your children in front of your eyes. Now, get moving."

The line quickly continued moving, with not another word. Virgo stood near the middle of the line, keeping a close eye on his two rebels. As he watched them, they watched him. His golden armor covered his Cutie Mark, his talent a mystery.

"I thought you should know something." said Virgo, after a long while of silence. "Your plan. For Earth Ponies, it was rather clever. You were completely correct. If I hadn't heard you, you would have been able to overtake me. Only Earth Ponies would be foolish enough to shout their escape plan."

"Were we really that loud?" asked Sweetie Drops.

"Yes. What are you called?"

"Sweetie Drops." she answered uneasily.

"Hm… Bon-Bon." said Virgo. "I think that fits you much better. You're called Bon-Bon now."

"What? No." she said. "My name is Sweetie Drops. You took my children, my husband, my money, my house. All I have left is who I am. You can't take that from me."

"We'll see, Bon-Bon. Understand that all orders I give to you will henceforth address you as Bon-Bon, and if you ignore them, I will remove one finger from each of your children." said Virgo. "Do you understand, Bon-Bon?"

Sweetie Drops stood in silent rebellion. She refused to forfeit her name. Sweetie Drops was who she was, who she was born as and who she would die as. Virgo shrugged and surrounded his horn with orange light. He vanished in a pop of light, only to return a few seconds later. He sheathed his bloody knife and pressed something into Sweetie Drops' hand. She looked at it, and shrieked loudly. In her hand were two small, bloody fingers, one finger mint green and one finger grape purple.

"Lyra! Berryshine!" sobbed Sweetie Drops.

"So, let's try this again. Do you understand, Bon-Bon?" asked Virgo. Sweetie Drops stood quiet for a second, and Virgo withdrew his knife again.

"Okay! Yes, I get it!" cried Bon-Bon. "My name is Bon-Bon."

"Very good. I hope nopony buys you. I need a new personal." said Virgo.

"Personal?" asked Bon-Bon.

"Yes. My personal servant. You would report directly to me, and carry out any order I give you at any time. My order would take priority over any other Solar-Maria."

Bon-Bon did not like the sound of that. She heard of the things that a Maria's slave had to do. There were rumors, rumors that Bon-Bon never believed. Now that she was experiencing slavery, she couldn't help but drift her mind towards these horror stories.

"Why?" she asked again. "Why are you doing this to us?"

"Because this is God's will." said Virgo. "Because this will help us win the war. Because Earth Ponies serve no other purpose. Those are just three of the many reasons. There will always be a market for indentured servants, and that money will help aid honest children of the Maker who need help."

"The term 'indentured servant' makes it sound like you might free us one day." said Bon-Bon. "Indentured slaves don't lose their names, or their children."

"You will be freed, if you fulfill certain stipulations." said Virgo. "If you are deemed too old for servitude, if you do considerably well as a slave, or if your master has pity." He felt a wave of energy, and he stopped the line moving. "Wait. They're coming."

"Who?" asked Cheerilee.

There were two flashes of light, one yellow and one blue. The light faded to reveal two armored unicorns. One unicorn's armor was golden, like Virgo's. Her mane was hidden behind a helmet, with a little hole near the forehead to let the long, spiraling white horn poke through. Her eyes were pale magenta and her coat, the little that was uncovered by armor, was pure white.

The other unicorn had a set of navy blue armor, with glitters of white speckling the steel. Her eyes were bold cerulean, and her coat was a slightly lighter navy than her armor. She pulled a large, black handled spear from her back and pointed the sharp tip at the slaves. The white unicorn reached to her hip and withdrew a long white sword, about four feet in length. Virgo brought the edge of his left hand to his forehead in salute.

"General Celestia! General Luna!" he said. "Lt. Col. Virgo reporting!"

"At ease." said the white unicorn, Celestia. "How are things, Virgo?"

"I can't complain, ma'am." said Virgo. "As long as I'm doing the Maker's work, I'm happy."

"Even still, what are you doing transporting slaves?" asked Luna. "I've been watching you since you were a cadet, and you were meant to be on the battlefield."

"I've been in my fair share of battles. Won a few, lost a few. I've been told that I've had enough direct conflict for right now."

"Would you like some more?" asked Celestia.

"I thought you'd never ask. What do you have in mind?" said Virgo with a smirk.

"Are you familiar with Lt. Col. Twilight Sparkle?" asked Luna. Virgo thought about it and, while the name sounded familiar, he could not place it to a face. He shook his head, and Celestia took up the explanation.

"You likely know her, but not her name. There are some who say she is the reincarnation of the Maker. Obviously, this is blasphemy, but she is rather talented. Her magic rivals that of me and my sister." said Celestia.

"She is second in command to the Hearts. In fact, her sister-in-law is General Mi Amore Cadenza." said Luna. "Which makes her brother Shining Armor."

"I see." said Virgo. "What of her?"

"She is dangerous. She can, on a good day, slaughter a hundred of our soldiers. She is as cunning as she is devoted to her cause." said Celestia. "The only thing that outweighs her skill is her hatred for the Solar-Maria. We have reason to believe that she is working out a stratagem with the goal of eliminating the entirety of our clan. I fear that she is nearing the answer."

"And you want me to terminate her?" asked Virgo.

"We want you to recruit her. An asset like Twilight Sparkle will win us the war." said Luna. Virgo raised an eyebrow in surprise. The Solar-Maria had decided years ago to halt the practice of recruiting members of the Sparkle Hearts. The few who did defect never stood for very long, and it always ended worse than it started.

"This will be… challenging. Where will I find her?" asked Virgo.

"She is travelling from a quaint little village called Ponyville. She is, of course, heading north towards their F.O.B." said Celestia.

"And the slaves?" asked Virgo.

"They are of no use to us. Release them." ordered Celestia. Her eyes met with Virgo's and he understood what she really meant. Virgo brought his hand to his forehead in salute, which he held for a second before lowering his hand. He reached to his left shoulder and pulled up a section of the golden armor. His fingers fumbled at a knotted string for a moment and, when it was undone, he did the same to the other side. His chest armor fell to the ground with a clank, leaving his chest bare in the wind. It was a sign of surrender and peace to contact a member of an opposing clan with no chest armor.

"Is that all, ma'am?" asked Virgo. He reached to his waist and withdrew a small knife.

"Yes. Report back at your discretion." said Luna. "We await your return. If you are successful, there is no reason why you cannot be promoted to General."

"Thank you, ma'am. This may take me a while." said Virgo. "I will report to you at Canterlot, yes?"

The Generals nodded, and sheathed their weapons. They nodded to Virgo and surrounded themselves in bright light, vanishing with a pop. Virgo silently went around to his slaves and cut the ropes tying their arms. It took him about a minute to free them all, and when he did, they slowly began to lurch away. Nopony even dared to believe their own freedom, but the Earth Ponies began to gratefully accept it.

"You're letting us go?" asked Bon-Bon.

"No. I'm releasing you." said Virgo. His knife flew from his hand and stabbed through an Earth Pony's middle. She dropped to the ground as Virgo withdrew seven more knives, one for each Earth Pony who was running in terror. The knives shot forward, finding a home in the ponies' necks and backs. The only one to remain was Bon-Bon, who crawled backwards in fear. Virgo withdrew his last knife and approached Bon-Bon.

"Why?" she asked. "She told you to let us go!"

"No, she didn't. She told me to release you, and the only release for your kind is death. There isn't much place for Earth Ponies here." said Virgo. He grabbed Bon-Bon's mane and put the tip of his knife to her throat. "Souls that the Maker deems unworthy end up as your kind. By killing you, I'm freeing your soul and asking the Maker to reconsider. It's the only way for you to have a proper existence."

The knife shot from Virgo's hand and buried itself into Bon-Bon's throat. Virgo wiped the red from his face in disgust.

"Dirty blood." he muttered, his voice drowned in the sound of Bon-Bon's gurgling. He collected all of his knives and returned them to his hip. His horn began to glow deep orange, a light which surrounded him and pulsated around his body. Muttering about filthy blood, he vanished with a loud _POP!_

* * *

><p>Orange light burst out in front of Twilight, startling her. She dropped Fluttershy to the ground unceremoniously and drew her sword. Pinkamena brought Scarlet back a few yards and settled her to the ground before retrieving Fluttershy, her legs bleeding heavily. Virgo looked from Twilight, her lavender blade a few inches from his nose, to Pinkamena, Scarlet, and Fluttershy.<p>

"State your name, rank, clan, and intention." said Twilight.

"I am Lt. Col. Virgo of the Solar-Maria." said Virgo, his hands held up in a lazy surrender. "I have no intention of fighting with the Hearts, not today. I am searching for Twilight Sparkle."

"What happens when you find her?" asked Twilight.

"I convince her that her talents are wasted on the backwards ideals of the Sparkle Hearts. I tell her that she is much better suited in the Maria." said Virgo nonchalantly. "I then lower my hands and start talking to her like we are equals." He lowered the tip of Twilight's sword with his index finger.

"If you move too quickly, I will kill you." said Twilight. She sheathed her sword, but kept her hand near the hilt. "I'm not defecting, so you may as well get back to your base."

"Judging by the blood gushing from your comrade's legs, I am going to wager that you're in a hurry. I'll keep it brief." said Virgo. "You're going to join us. Not today, obviously, but you will join the Maria eventually. It will be easier for us all if it is sooner, rather than later."

"Are you sure that you want to disrespect me like that?" asked Twilight angrily.

"I was not aware that I was being disrespectful."

"Do you truly think my will is so weak that I will throw away everything I believe in? I've invested twenty-five years into this cause, I've sacrificed so much for the things I believe in, and you think I'm going to abandon it?" said Twilight. Virgo could feel the heat emanating from her. "The cause that my brother fought for, that my sister still fights for?"

"Which brings me to your brother, Shining Armor." said Virgo. He reached into a pouch on his hip and withdrew a small pin, in the shape of a shield. The shield was blue, with a light pink six-point star painted across the face. Virgo pressed the cold metal into Twilight's hand.

"I had the honor of battling your brother. He was a good stallion, even if he fought for the wrong cause." said Virgo. Twilight brought her sword up to Virgo's neck, and the Maria took a few steps back, to show that he meant no harm.

"It was you? You killed my brother?" asked Twilight. Virgo looked shocked.

"Me? No, of course not. I battled him, and he won." explained Virgo. "Your brother was a great soldier, but very foolish. He, for reasons I still cannot explain, spared me. He actually gave me that pin. He said that his little sister gave it to him as a wedding gift. I thought you'd want it back."

Twilight gripped the pin tightly for a second before tossing it back to Virgo. The pin bounced off of his chest and clattered to the ground. Undisturbed, Virgo stooped down and returned it to his pouch.

"Suit yourself." he muttered.

"What's wrong with your horn?" asked Twilight. Virgo raised an eyebrow in surprise. "There's something wrong with it, no? You can't levitate."

"You truly are as sharp as Shining. Through one simple observation, you discovered what could be an extreme weakness of your enemy. For reasons best known to the Maker, I cannot cast a levitation spell." said Virgo. "So, will you come with me? Somepony that your brother spared can't possibly be the big boogeyman that you think the Marias are, can they?"

"I am going to continue to spill Maria blood until Equestria is painted red." said Twilight.

"What is going to happen then, Twilight Sparkle?" asked Virgo in frustration. "Sparkle Hearts versus Solar-Maria, someone has to win! Why not me? And what happens if we do lose? What if the Hearts somehow defeat the Marias?"

"We take over, of course." said Twilight. She glanced over to Fluttershy, whose state was declining. Twilight knew she had to wrap her conversation up soon.

"Why? What do you hope to accomplish?"

"We're going to free Equestria." said Twilight.

"You think Equestria will be free if you defeat us? Freedom comes only when serving the Maker's will!" spat Virgo. "You paint us out to be the bad guys, but you are blinded! We are doing God's work, and you blasphemers are trying to stop us!"

"Are you sure that your God wants you to be enslaving Earth Ponies?" returned Twilight.

"Yes, and I thought you'd understand that."

"Why would I ever understand the enslavement of another life?" asked Twilight.

"Because you are a part of the Master Race! The Maker wasn't a pegasus, and she was by no means a filthy Earth Pony! She was a unicorn, like you and I!" shouted Virgo. "She put us here to guide the pegasi, and to use the Earth Ponies."

"Or perhaps she put us here to unite the races, and to spread peace." offered Twilight. Virgo let out an angry sigh.

"This is why you will be forever damned, Twilight Sparkle. Your ideals are backwards. What you're asking for is chaos! You want the Earth Ponies to be on the same status as the rest of us? That's unfeasible to a ludicrous extent! Just the thought makes me uneasy; Beings made from God's own flesh on the same level as barbarian Earth Ponies, and pegasi! Pegasi! They're just Earth Ponies with wings!"

"And we are just Earth Ponies with horns." pointed out Twilight. "See? Our similarities outweigh our differences."

"That's like saying that a dragon is just a snake with claws and wings." scoffed Virgo. "Or that a phoenix is just an eagle with a fever."

"Are we there yet, Twilight?" said Scarlet sleepily. She sat up slowly, her hand to her head. "I think I'm all better now."

"Pinkamena, keep her back." ordered Twilight. Pinkamena pressed her palm against Scarlet's chest. The filly looked around in confusion.

"What's going on? Who's this?" asked Scarlet.

"This is a Solar-Maria. Take a good look, because you may never see a living one again." said Twilight. Virgo barely heard her, all of his attention devoted to Scarlet.

"Earth Pony! What's your name?" said Virgo. "Not the pink one. You, the filly. What's your name?"

"Me?" said Scarlet. "I'm Scarlet Force. Why?"

"You seem familiar. I don't know what it is, but something about you feels familiar." said Virgo. "Have we met? No, you're too young to be a personal servant. Your kind is only good for cleaning and farming at your age."

"You're weird, mister. You keep saying 'your kind', like we're not the same type of animal." said Scarlet. "I've never gone to school, and even I know that Earth Ponies and unicorns are both types of ponies."

"I truly do not want to hold you up any longer than I already have." said Virgo. Dark orange surrounded Virgo. "We will meet again, Twilight Sparkle. When we do, I will ask you again. I hope your answer changes. And, hopefully, I'll be able to place this filly."

_POP!_

"He's gone!" said Scarlet.

"Teleportation spells tend to do that. Scarlet, go home." ordered Twilight. She levitated Fluttershy onto her back.

"Where are we?" asked Scarlet.

"We just passed Cloudsdale." said Pinkamena.

"What's Cloudsdale?"

"It's a pegasus city, up in the clouds." explained Pinkamena. Scarlet's eyes grew wide like saucers.

"No! I can't go home by myself!" she shrieked. "The elders said that the pegasi city is where things get _really_ dangerous! Please take me with you!"

"When we get to our F.O.B., I'm having somepony from the Teleportation Corp send you home." said Twilight. "Then, we never have to see each other again."

"What's an F.O.B?" asked Scarlet.

"Forward Operating Base. Now, let's get going." ordered Twilight.

"What was that guy talking about? What did he ask you?" asked Scarlet. Twilight remained silent as they began marching back to her home of the Crystal Empire. She was angry with Virgo, her situation, but mostly herself.

"I should've taken the pin." she muttered to herself.


	3. Chapter 3

Scarlet looked at the doctor's finger, which was hovering a few inches from her face. The doctor, Dr. Whooves, moved his finger to the left. Scarlet followed it with her eyes as it went to the left, then the right, then up, then down.

"Say 'Ah'." ordered Dr. Whooves.

"Aaaaahhh." said Scarlet, opening her mouth wide. The Doctor looked in, shining the light from his horn down Scarlet's throat. He gave her a nod and she closed her mouth.

"You seem to be fine, for the most part. Slightly dehydrated and a bit malnourished, but these issues are common among war orphans." said Dr. Whooves. "You're in no fit state for teleportation right now. You'll have to wait a couple of days here. During your stay, I want you to stick with Lt. Col. Pinkamena. She'll get you settled in, and she'll look after you."

"Where is she?" asked Scarlet.

"Just outside. Now, I want you to take it easy, even after you get home." said Dr. Whooves. "That means no powers unless absolutely necessary."

"But it's so cool! And how else am I supposed to practice?" asked Scarlet.

"You're not. Overuse of whatever your power is seems to cause adverse health issues. Today, you were fine, but I suspect that it could lead to popped blood vessels, brittle bones, or perhaps even worse."

"Okay, doc. Whatever you say." said Scarlet. "Can I go now?"

"Yes. Make sure you hit the mess hall. I am prescribing you a nice, hearty meal, with lots of carbohydrates and proteins." said Dr. Whooves. "Bread and beans should become your best friends. Lots of water, and stay away from sweets. A sticky bun every now and then is fine, but it shouldn't be an everyday thing."

Scarlet nodded, although she didn't really understand anything that the Doctor was saying. She lived a life of necessity, which, to her, meant that she took what she needed. She remembered the feeling of being hungry too well to shy away from any food she could scrape together.

Scarlet jumped from her little gurney and left the examination room. Waiting to the left of the door was Pinkamena, still in full armor. Pinkamena smiled and began walking down the crystal hallway with Scarlet by her side.

"This is the Crystal Empire." said Pinkamena. "Base of operations for the Sparkle Hearts. We're technically in a different country than Equestria, but, because of the size difference, the Empire tends to be called a city-state of Equestria. Even though they're bigger than us, we get along fine without Equestrian imports. We even have some things here that you can't find anywhere else."

"Like what?" asked Scarlet.

"Crystal berries, rose quartz roses, and amethyst cotton, just to name a few." said Pinkamena. "There even used to be a race of Earth Ponies made out of crystals. According to legend, anyway."

"So, what type of ponies join the Sparkle Hearts?" asked Scarlet as they turned a corner left.

"We accept all kinds of ponies, but the largest chunk of our forces are Earth Ponies. We have the most to lose if the Marias take over, after all."

"Right. Hey, how's Fluttershy?" asked Scarlet.

"She's doing okay. She said she wanted to see you, actually. We'll go down after lunch." said Pinkamena. They stopped in front of a huge crystal archway, with the words "Mess Hall" etched into it. Scarlet, of course, had no idea what the letters were, or what they signified.

Pinkamena led Scarlet down a line of soldiers, each in their armor. Scarlet noticed that some of the ponies were in purple armor, like Twilight's and Pinkamena's, while others were in light pink armor.

"Why are there different colors of armor?" asked Scarlet as Pinkamena filled a tray for her.

"It's an organization thing. Purple means that you report to General Twilight, pink means you report to General Mi Amore Cadenza." explained Pinkamena. Scarlet didn't even hear her. She was too wrapped up in the mountain of food on her plate. Bread, carrots, apples, hay, and some things that Scarlet couldn't even identify. Her mouth gaped open at her meal. She couldn't even believe that this was called a meal. It was more food than she normally ate in a week.

"We'll talk when we get to the table." giggled Pinkamena. "You seem hungry."

"Uh-huh." said Scarlet mindlessly. Pinkamena filled her own plate and brought Scarlet to a table near the corner, hidden away from most of the others. Pinkamena took a spot across from Scarlet, with her back to the wall. As soon as they were sitting, Scarlet dug into her plate. She started with a long piece of yellow something, that she soon decided must've been called "Yummy".

"Enjoying yourself?" asked Pinkamena. She took off her helmet, and there was a trill sound, like some sort of musical instrument, as her mane exploded into a puff of pink. Scarlet stared at Pinkamena in shock.

"How… Where do you put it all?" asked Scarlet.

"Magic!" laughed Pinkamena. Scarlet picked up a slice of bread and began nibbling on it.

"Your name doesn't really fit you." she decided.

"Neither does yours. You're not scarlet at all. You're more of an orange, really." said Pinkamena. "Why are you named Scarlet?"

"My mom." said Scarlet quietly. She shook her head and picked up where she left off. "You don't seem like a 'Pinkamena'. That seems to serious for you. How about… Pinkie? You seem like a Pinkie."

"Pinkie Pie? I think I like that." said Pinkie.

"Your last name is Pie?"

"Yuppers. I'm Pinkamena Diane Pie. My sisters are Inkamena, Blinkamena, and Maud."

"Maud?" asked Scarlet.

"Yeah. Don't know what my parents were thinking." giggled Pinkie. "They're the reason I joined the Hearts. One day, a group of Marias came to my family's farm and took them. My sisters, too. I started off just trying to find them, and I somehow became a loyal member of the Sparkle Hearts clan."

"Do you think you'll ever stop?" asked Scarlet.

"I dunno. If the war ends, obviously, but I don't think that's going to happen. I've been a Heart for as long as I can remember. I was around your age when I enlisted." recalled Pinkie. "If I ever found my family, I'd probably retire. If not, then I'll keep fighting until we win."

"Do you know anypony on the enemy side?"

"I know one." said Pinkie. "My cousin is a Maria. I kept trying to tell her that they're using her, but she won't listen. She was always so stubborn! She just wouldn't see that I'm looking out for her. I hope she doesn't die out there."

"What's her name?" asked Scarlet.

"Her name is A-." began Pinkie. She looked past Scarlet and smiled. "General Twilight! Over here!" She began waving her hands wildly.

"I don't eat lunch in a group, Pinkamena." said Twilight. She strode past Scarlet and dropped her tray to Pinkie's right. "But I suppose I can stretch the rules for you today. Don't get too used to it."

"Of course not, ma'am." said Pinkie. "Have you spoken to Fluttershy yet?"

"I did go to see her, yes. She'll make a speedy recovery." said Twilight. "Give her a month and she'll be back on her hooves, ready to keep fighting."

"Aren't you glad you met me, then?" asked Scarlet smugly. "You were going to kill her."

"I also didn't know that there was a better option. Which reminds me, what the hell was that?" asked Twilight. "How did you do that?"

"It's just a thing I can do. That's what I got my Cutie Mark for." explained Scarlet. "I can't really explain it. I can just do it. I learned how when I was eleven years old, I think."

"And you can completely manipulate the gravity of an object and the area around it?" said Twilight.

"Uh…."

"That was a rhetorical question."

"Uh…."

"Dear lord. Look, kid. Fluttershy wanted to talk to you, and I have to bring you to Cadance afterwards, so hurry up and eat." said Twilight. Scarlet took in a deep breath and began shoveling food into her mouth. Neither Twilight nor Pinkie had ever seen a pony that size eat that much food so quickly. Within a minute, Scarlet's plate was clean.

"Let's go." said Scarlet, jumping to her hooves.

"You can follow orders, I'll give you that." said Twilight. "Are you coming, Pinkamena?"

"Mh-hm." said Pinkie, her mouth full of carrots and hay. She grabbed a sweet sticky bun, covered in crystal sweetsap (another commodity exclusive to the Crystal Empire). Twilight grabbed Pinkie's helmet and headed for the exit. Pinkie followed with Scarlet close behind. Pinkie ripped the sticky bun in half and handed it to Scarlet.

"I'm not supposed to eat too many sweets." said Scarlet, although she had already started eating.

"Don't worry. Your parents won't find out." joked Pinkie.

"Yeah. I guess they won't." said Scarlet solemnly. Pinkie's smile fell, and she stared at Scarlet in bemusement.

"Is everything okay?" she asked.

"She's an orphan, Pinkamena." said Twilight. As Pinkie apologized over and over for her lack of tact, they passed under an arch with the word "Infirmary" etched into it. The room was filled with gurneys and stretchers, most of them empty. In the corner, with her legs set in casts, was Fluttershy. She saw Scarlet and perked up, smiling through the insane amount of pain she was feeling.

"You okay?" asked Scarlet. She dragged a nearby stretcher to Fluttershy's side and took a seat.

"All thanks to you." said Fluttershy. "How can I ever repay you?"

"Don't pay me back. Pay it forward." said Scarlet. "Help somepony who actually needs help, okay? Do it for me."

"Of course."

"I'd like to apologize for my haste when you were under that rock." said Twilight. "If it were up to me, you'd be dead. Please, forgive me."

"I won't hold it against you, ma'am. You were willing to do what you thought would be best." said Fluttershy. "I can't possibly fault you for doing your job. Speaking of jobs, I never finished mine."

"What job is that?" asked Pinkie.

"Did you forget why I was out there? I was supposed to be scouting for information, and I got some." said Fluttershy. "The Marias are planning to move in on Ponyville by next month. If they get Ponyville, they gain an entire village of slaves."

"Ponyville is nothing but Earth Ponies." said Scarlet. "Not only that, but they'd have access to the Everfree Forest and all the creatures in it."

"So? A forest is just a forest." said Twilight.

"Not the Everfree. Trust me on this. You don't want the Marias to get the Everfree."

"We don't want the Marias to have anything, but I'm not going to fight too hard when the place's only focal point is a bunch of trees."

"Do you have manticores here?" asked Scarlet. Twilight shook her head. "Do you want some? Cause that's what'll happen if the Maria get the Everfree. Manticores and cockatrices and chimeras and even Ursa will all go to the Maria."

"Ursa are harmless." scoffed Twilight. Scarlet turned her back to Twilight and ripped off her tunic. A massive gash ran diagonally across her back, several inches deep. The scar was obviously old, at least three years.

"Harmless? And that was from a Minor. Imagine what Majors will do to this place." said Scarlet, replacing her shirt. "Ursa are harmless until you piss them off. What do you think will be the first thing the Marias do? You have to stop them."

"I don't have to do anything but tell Cadance what Fluttershy told me. What she decides beyond that is up to her." said Twilight. "Fluttershy, I expect you on your hooves and ready to go in two weeks. Until then, get some rest, and learn how to avoid giant boulders."

"Yes, ma'am." said Fluttershy, saluting the General.

"Pinkamena, stay here with her." said Twilight. "Scarlet, with me. Cadance wants to see you."

"Who's Cadance?" asked Scarlet, following Twilight out of the infirmary.

"She's our leader, and you will call her General Mi Amore Cadenza." said Twilight. they turned down the hall and began down a long flight of stairs.

"Why would I call her that?"

"That's her name. Very few ponies are allowed to call her Cadance." explained Twilight.

"What makes you so special?" asked Scarlet.

"She's my sister-in-law. The only family that I have." said Twilight. They continued down the stairs, deeper and deeper beneath the base. Long after Scarlet stopped counting, they finally reached the bottommost step. They stepped through the short hallway into a large chamber, about the size of the mess hall. Unlike the mass hall's many tables, there was only one in this room, a table that could easily seat thirty ponies. At the head of the table, farthest from the door, were two ponies. One pony, a mare, was seated, while the other, a stallion, stood to her side. As soon as she saw Twilight, the mare jumped to her hooves. She kissed the stallion and spread her arms wide to meet Twilight.

"Twily!" she squealed. Twilight broke into a smile, and accepted her embrace.

"Cadance! How're you doing?" asked Twilight.

"I'm good. I was just finalizing things with Davenport." said Cadance with a giant smile. "This makes number seven!"

"Number seven what?" asked Scarlet. Cadance broke away from Twilight and began walking towards Scarlet.

"My seventh marriage." said Cadance. She looked Scarlet up and down. "And this is the filly who saved one of my best soldiers? Hm... If you were older, I would set you up with one of my nephews... I'll find somepony for you, I promise."

"Um..." Scarlet wasn't sure how to react.

"Sorry! It's a thing I do. I see a pony and my mind starts running rampant on who they could marry. Before the war, I was an expert romantic consultant." explained Cadance. "But Twilight didn't bring you here to talk about finding you a significant other. She brought you here to get you briefed."

"I did?" asked Twilight.

"She's not enlisting?" asked Cadance.

"Wait a second." said Scarlet confusedly. "This is your seventh marriage?"

"Yes. Not counting Shining Armor, bless his soul." said Cadance. "He can never be replaced, of course. He gave me so much. My favorite sister-in-law, for one. Um… Don't tell your sister, Davenport."

"Of course not, honey." said the stallion. "I'll leave you to deal with this." Davenport kissed his fiance on the cheek once and left the room. Cadance directed Twilight and Scarlet down to the head of the table and gestured for them to take a seat.

"How does an expert romantic consultant end up getting divorced so many times?" asked Scarlet.

"What makes you think that I was divorced?" asked Cadance.

"She lives in an unaligned village, so she doesn't know much about either side." explained Twilight. Turning to Scarlet, she said, "One of the main reasons that the Solar-Maria hate the Sparkle Hearts is that we're polygamous. That means we can have more than one husband or wife at a time."

"I have too much love to give to just one person." said Cadance with a smile. "I feel that to be a fact for every living thing on this earth. The Maria disagree. Apparently, it 'violates the sanctity of marriage'."

"So you can marry as many stallions as you want?" asked Scarlet.

"As long as they all agree. And it's not just limited to stallions." said Cadance. "I have four husbands and three wives, which amounts to eight brothers-in-law and five sisters-in-law. Twilight, of course, being my absolute favorite."

"Don't you think we're getting a little off-track?" asked Twilight, blushing slightly.

"Right! Enlistment papers! I don't have the paperwork right now, but give me a day or two and-" began Cadance.

"Enlistment? What's that?" asked Scarlet.

"It means to join the army, which you're not going to do." said Twilight.

"The army? Like you and Pinkie?" asked Scarlet. "I wanna join!"

"Tough luck, kid. I'm not letting you join the Hearts." said Twilight.

"Why not?"

"Because you are a twelve year-old little filly with a hero complex."

"I don't know if I'd go so far as to say a hero complex." said Cadance. "She just wants to help."

"And I'm not twelve. I'm fourteen. Only a year younger than you were when you saved me." said Scarlet.

"That's different!" yelled Twilight. "I was born into the clan! My parents used to be the heads of the clan. I didn't have a choice."

"I don't have much choice either. What else am I going to do?" asked Scarlet. "The Marias are getting more and more powerful, and you need all the help you can get! What happens if they take Ponyville? What'll you do then?"

"We'll-"

"It doesn't matter! I can help! I might be young, but I lost my childhood years ago." said Scarlet angrily. "I might be able to save some little filly from going through the same thing. Nopony should have to walk through the streets at night, picking through trash just to eat."

"And you shouldn't have to walk to your death!" shouted Twilight, slamming her fist down onto the table. The general took in a deep breath and placed her helmet atop her head. "Wanting to make a difference is one thing, but do _not_ lie to me!"

"I'm not lying! What could I even be lying about?"

"I can see in your eyes that you're lying! You're not doing this to protect the innocent. Don't make me laugh!" spat Twilight. "What is your true purpose?"

"That is my-"

"If you lie to me again, I will see to it that you never bare the crest of a Sparkle Heart!" Twilight's voice was heavy with anger, despite Cadance's calming words. Scarlet locked eyes with Twilight Sparkle, both of them unyielding in conviction. Slowly, Scarlet let out a sigh.

"Fine. You got me." she said quietly. "It's not just about protecting people who need protecting. I mostly want to find out who killed my parents." Twilight's fiery gaze softened and cooled enough to be noticeable, but not enough to be mistaken for compassion.

"No you don't. You don't know what you want." said Twilight softly. "I told you that my parents were killed, but I never told you what happened next. I found their killer and… You don't need to go through that, kid. You don't need to end up like me."

"But you're amazing." said Scarlet. "Equestria needs more 'Twilight Sparkle's. I can't give em that, but maybe a 'Scarlet Force' will do. Please, let me join. If I can grow to be half the soldier you are, maybe, just maybe…"

"Maybe what?"

"I dunno. Maybe I'll do something worth doing." said Scarlet. Twilight patted Scarlet softly on the shoulder. Her anger had finally dissipated, and she felt a huge sense of something she couldn't quite identify. She thought that it might be pity, or regret.

"Cadance, get the paperwork ready. Scarlet, you're coming with me." said Twilight. "If you're going to be a Heart, you're going to be the best damned Heart there ever was. You're going to shape up or ship out. And you're going to help us take Ponyville."


	4. Chapter 4

Virgo pushed open the doors to the great Fort Canterlot, headquarters for the Solar-Maria. The great facility was easily mistaken for a castle; In fact, there was a legend that the Maker herself took up residence in Canterlot Castle, which would later become the Maria's F.O.B.

Virgo marched through the halls, past the swarm of his fellow soldiers. He saluted those who were a higher rank than he, and nodded to his subordinates. He had no time for small talk among his equals, he rarely did. Virgo moved with purpose for a while before stopping in front of the huge chamber that had been dubbed The Throne Room. He pushed open the door and stepped in.

The walls were actually great big mosaic windows, the stained glass painting out the shining white coat and maroon mane of the Maker. There were a dozen mosaics on each side of the room, each displaying the Maker in all of her shining glory. General Celestia was near the back of the room, inspecting the mosaic that was farthest from the door and on the right.

"General Celestia." said Virgo. Celestia turned, with a small look of surprise on her face. It was a common occurrence for her to get lost in thought while gazing into the Maker's eyes.

"Ah. Lt. Col. Virgo. How are things?" asked Celestia.

"Where is General Luna? I was under the impression that I would be reporting to you at the same time." said Virgo.

"My sister is currently on a mission that came up rather suddenly. I assure you, you can report to me just as you would if Luna were here." said Celestia. Virgo met General Celestia's gaze uneasily. Virgo knew that Celestia was much less kind in regard to failure than her sister and, while Virgo didn't technically fail, he wasn't sure how Celestia would react.

"I met with Twilight Sparkle. When I offered her a position in our ranks, she refused." said Virgo. Celestia's face fell into a scowl, and Virgo felt the need to try to make her a little happier. "However…"

"However?"

"However, she will accept. Eventually." said Virgo.

"We do not have 'eventually', Virgo. We are at war." snarled Celestia.

"Yes, but Twilight Sparkle is a very devoted pony. She is not the type to just drop her loyalties." explained Virgo. "And we can't force her to join. Twilight Sparkle will only be useful to us if she defects on her own accord. But I promise you, she will. Is there anything I can do in the meantime?"

"Are you aware of our plan to take Ponyville?" asked Celestia. Virgo nodded. "It is of the utmost importance that we secure Ponyville, as well as the Everfree Forest. In order to do this, we must eliminate certain prestigious targets. You will be leading a squad made up of you and three others. You will eliminate these targets to ensure the success of our attack on Ponyville."

"Yes, ma'am. Who are the other three I am to work with?" asked Virgo. This time, it was Celestia who looked uneasy.

"I do not know their names, but Luna promises me that they are they are three of the best soldiers we have." said Celestia delicately. "One is a unicorn, one is a pegasus, and one… is an Earth Pony."

Virgo's eyes grew wide in complete shock. If he were talking to anyone other than General Celestia, he might've started shouting indignations. He tried to get together the words to refuse without being disrespectful.

"I will be damned for eternity if I serve alongside such filth." said Virgo. "The Maker would never forgive me for such a sin."

"Normally, I would agree with you. However…" said Celestia.

"However?"

"However, she is a special Earth Pony. She was born with the Maker's mark." explained Celestia. "Not like the ones before her. This is a sign from God. We must use her to serve God's will."

"No disrespect, ma'am, but what if you're wrong?"

"Then it is I who shall be damned, not you. You will be serving your superiors under the knowledge that it is God's work. If I am wrong, I am to blame for lying."

"Very well." sighed Virgo. "Where shall I find them?"

"I gave them orders to await for you at our base in a settlement to the southeast, by the name of Appleloosa." said Celestia. "I trust that you can ignore your soldier's unfortunate birthing?"

"If that is what the Maker wants of me." said Virgo, shaking his head. "Permission to teleport?"

"Granted. They have directions to brief you upon your arrival. Good luck, Virgo." said Celestia. Virgo saluted Celestia one last time before shrouding his horn in orange light. The light collapsed on him with a pop, and he vanished from the Throne Room.

Virgo stepped out of his teleportation, surveying his barracks. He stepped off of his cot and grabbed his armor off of the rack. He slipped into his golden leggings, the soft leather inside hugging his body, before sliding into his boots. He hovered his cuirass off of the hook, untying it with his magic. When the chestplate was split from the backplate, Virgo began his prayer.

"Don the Holy Armor that God has gifted unto thee, to guard thy faith and thy honor." said Virgo, pressing the front plate of gold to his chest. He tied the back to the front, covering his entire midsection in golden armor. Virgo grabbed his belt of pouches and knives, and strapped it around his waist. Below his armor rack was his sheathed shortsword, which he attached to his hip.

"Draw the Holy Blade that God has gifted unto thee, to defend thy faith and thy honor." said Virgo. "Thou art a soldier of the Maker, an elite guard of her will, made from her own flesh. Thou shalt protect thine ideals from those who wish to sin against Her might and Her wisdom."

Virgo let out a small puff of breath. His prayer, as it usually did, filled him with vigor and fire. Just the knowledge that he was serving his god was enough to push him through anything.

"We are the Maker's soldiers. We will chase her through flames. We shall be the ones to execute the sinners, and I shall tie the noose." he said. His horn was surrounded in orange light, and he vanished yet again.

* * *

><p>Virgo reappeared before three mares, sitting outside of a small fort near what Virgo took to be the center of the settlement. The mares stood up immediately and saluted. One was a cyan pegasus, her eyes a sharp magenta. The other was a pure white unicorn with bright, piercing blue eyes. The last was a freckled orange Earth Pony, emerald green shining in her eyes. Virgo gazed at each of his troops, and their equipment. The pegasus had a quiver of arrows on her back and quiver of crossbow bolts on her hip. She held a long bow slung over her shoulder, and her crossbow was in her left hand. The unicorn had what appeared to be a modified claymore strapped to her back, about half the size of the standard blade. Virgo guessed it was so the mare could swing it more effectively. In her left hand was a round, steel shield.<p>

The Earth Pony seemed to be at a severe disadvantage when compared to her teammates. While the unicorn's armor was golden, and the pegasus' was cerulean steel, the Earth Pony wore dented, rusted iron armor. Her weapon was a dusty, dull-pointed morning star.

"Before anything gets done, I would like to see the mark for myself." said Virgo. The Earth Pony nodded and silently started untying her chestpiece. The armor fell off of her when both strings were undone. She pulled her tunic down slightly to show the Maker's mark, two horseshoes overlayed and tilted into a heart, over her breast. Virgo leaned forward to get a closer look. Unlike the other "Maker's marks" he'd seen before, this did not seem painted on, or scratched in. As General Celestia said, it seemed a genuine mark that had plagued the mare's chest since birth.

"Very well. Replace your armor." said Virgo. The mare stooped down and started to get redressed. Virgo turned to the unicorn. "You there, miss. Your name and rank?"

"Lieutenant Rarity, sir!" she said, saluting again.

"Pegasus?" asked Virgo.

"Second Lieutenant Rainbow Dash, sir!" she said. She saluted just as Rarity had. Virgo sighed and turned to the Earth Pony.

"And what does your master call you?" asked Virgo. The Earth Pony opened her mouth, looked at Rarity, then closed it again. "Answer me!"

"Private Applejack." she said after a while. She saluted stiffly. "Sir!"

"Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack the Earth Pony." said Virgo. "Rarity and Dash, my name is Lt. Col. Virgo. Earth Pony, you are to refer to me as Master Virgo. Understood?"

"Sir, yes, sir!" said the three in tandem.

"General Celestia has informed me that one of you would be briefing me. We have no time to waste, so let's go." said Virgo. His team stood quiet. Virgo stared at Rarity, who shook her head vigorously. He turned his questioning gaze onto Rainbow Dash, who shrugged her shoulders.

"Nopony knows what we're supposed to be doing here?" asked Virgo angrily. He was so frustrated that he didn't notice Applejack to his right, struggling to get words out. "How are we supposed to carry out the Maker's will if none of you can pay attention to our superiors?"

"Sir?" said Rainbow Dash. "General Celestia didn't give me any information."

"Nor I, sir." agreed Rarity.

"Then who did she tell?" asked Virgo. Understanding dawned on him, and he slowly turned to face Applejack. "Are you withholding information from me, Earth Pony?"

Applejack slowly nodded. Virgo slapped her across the face with the back of his hand as hard as he could, knocking the mare to the ground. Her helmet flew to the side, revealing a head of dirty, greasy blonde hair.

"What did Celestia tell you?" asked Virgo. "Answer me, filth!"

"We're lookin fer an Earth Pony by tha name of Brute Strength." she said finally. She rose to her hooves and wiped the blood from her nose. "They call him 'Tha Beast from tha East'. He's holed up in Baltimare. He fights with a flail and greatshield, and his armor is bout three times as heavy as standard Heart gear. Makes him harder ta hurt, but easier ta dodge. He likes ta work real lonesome-like, so we shouldn't worry too much bout reinforcements. That's bout it. Sir!"

"Why did you think you could withhold that sort of information?" asked Virgo.

"Ah'm sorry, sir. Ah ain't know what ta do. Never had more than one master givin me orders before." she said.

"Who else was giving you orders?"

"Lt. Rarity. She told me ta 'shut mah inbred mouth' or Ah'd be sorry." explained Applejack.

"In my defense, sir, I am deeply offended and insulted to be working alongside this filth." said Rarity. "And then it started to talk and I thought that I might have to end up killing it."

"From now on, it will be I who gives the orders." said Virgo. "Earth Pony, you will obey all of our orders, but you will obey mine first. If I give you an order that goes against what somepony else said, follow my order. Am I clear?"

"Sir, yes, sir!" said the mares.

"Very good. Before we move out, I want to see Cutie Marks and hear of any useful skills." ordered Virgo. The mares dropped to the ground and pulled off their boots and leggings. Rarity's Cutie Mark was a trio of diamonds. Dash's was a multicolored lightning bolt, while Applejack's was a set of three apples.

"I have the ability to uncover objects hidden beneath the Earth's surface." said Rarity. "My primary jobs before today involved discovering, removing, and disabling enemy traps."

"Which will certainly come in handy." said Virgo. "Dash?"

"I'm fast." said Rainbow simply.

"How fast exactly?"

"One time, I raced a lightning bolt to the ground. I won." bragged Dash. "In five seconds, I can draw and fire my bow six or seven times."

"Very impressive. And the Earth Pony?" asked Virgo.

"Mah talent is-" began Applejack.

"Besides brute strength, her only other skill is the ability to mate with her own brother." said Rarity. The unicorns burst into laughter, and even Rainbow Dash chuckled a bit. Applejack wasn't too disturbed. She was very used to mistreatment, either from her owners or her colleagues.

"Ah don't have too many skills that we could use in fights." said Applejack. "Fore General Luna came fer me, Ah worked on an apple farm. It made me strong, but that's bout it. Ah can lift nearly twice mah weight."

"Which is quite a bit." shot Rarity.

"Enough. It's time for us to go." said Virgo. "We will formulate a plan of attack when we are a few kilometers from our target. Let us depart."

The mares rose to their hooves and followed Virgo. They walked in silence along the dusty, sandy roads of Appleloosa. Within a minute, they were outside the boundaries of the desert town. They entered the area known as No-Man's Land, a zone that belonged to neither the Solar-Maria nor the Sparkle Heart. Virgo kept his guard up at all times. Statistics show that the chances of a soldier being ambushed is almost doubled when in No-Man's Land. Oddly, the odds are significantly lower when in an enemy territory, as opposed to a neutral area.

"Sir? You never told us your talent." said Rarity. "Do you mind my curiosity?"

"Of course not. I never told you my talent because it's irrelevant. I almost never use it." said Virgo. "Well, I almost never use it to it's full extent. If it comes up, I will explain then."

"Scuse me, Master Virgo, but Ah got a question." said Applejack. "Why are we walkin? Can't ya just teleport us there?"

"I can teleport myself and one other. Lt. Rarity can teleport herself, with no passengers." said Virgo. "Someone will be left behind. That someone would be you. You are, apparently, blessed by the Maker, so we cannot leave you behind during our holy quests. But, Rainbow Dash is far more useful than you are, so we have to bring her. If she were to stay behind, we might fail, and anger the Maker. So, the only solution is for all of us to walk there. Do not question my methods again, Earth Pony."

"Yes, sir." said Applejack. She looked over to Rarity, who leered right back. Applejack stifled a small chuckle, so small that an ordinary person would mistake it for a cough. Rarity, however, saw it for what it was.

"What exactly is so funny?" asked Rarity angrily. "I did not give you permission to laugh, nor did anypony else here. So what gives you the right to be amused?"

"Sorry, ma'am. Ah just found it kinda funny that you can only teleport yerself. Why is that? Most unicorns can bring at least one other person." said Applejack. "Is there sumthin wrong with yer horn?"

Rarity's palm met with the side of Applejack's face with a passion. Unlike when Virgo struck her, Applejack stood on her hooves. She spat onto the floor and wiped her face. Just as she was about to open her mouth in retort, Rarity brought the back of her hand against Applejack's face, just as viciously as before.

"Enough." ordered Virgo. "What has it done to deserve this?"

"It disrespected me. It insinuated that I am inferior." said Rarity. "Then it spat near me. Disgusting creature!"

"Next time it mocks your magic, remember that a bit of rather weak magic is far better than no magic at all. It is a filthy slave, while you are the Master Race. You are above it. Remember that."

"Am I meant to sit there and allow it to disrespect me?" asked Rarity.

"Of course not. But there is something you are forgetting." sighed Virgo. He wanted to like Rarity, and he felt like he would eventually learn how. But for now, she was a bit too pompous and hot-headed for his liking. "You keep forgetting that it's opinions are easily ignored. You do not need to dirty your hands to punish it for saying something you disagree with, especially as a unicorn. Her attacks at your magic are easily reflected back to her, because it is a dirty Earth Pony. No horn, not even wings. Absolutely useless."

"I just... I apologize, sir. I let it get the better of me. Forgive me. It will not happen again."

"And as for the Earth Pony, I can only say that it will stay silent, or it will face dire consequences." snarled Virgo. "I will not tolerate disrespect on my team, whether marked by the Maker or not. Let us continue, before it gets too late."

They continued walking in silence for hours, stopping periodically along the way. Virgo kept them on the right path, although he had no map or compass. The Lieutenant Colonel mysteriously knew where they should be turning and when. Into the third hour of walking, Virgo stopped his team for a break.

"We don't have time for a meal, but we should at least stop for water." said Virgo. "Does anypony have canteens?" Dash reached to her hip and ripped four small, steel canteens from her belt, handing one to each of her comrades.

"Master Virgo?" said Applejack. "Where are we 'posed to get water? There ain't a pond or lake or nuthin for what's gotta be a couple kilometers."

"Did you forget? You have me here?" said Rainbow Dash. "And I'm amazing." Rainbow Dash pulled off her helmet, running her hand through her messy, multi-colored hair. She ripped off her chest plate and her boots before flapping into the air. Rainbow floated up to the cloud layer, and grabbed one grayish cloud out of the sky. She brought it to the ground and ripped it in four.

"Here you go." said Dash. She held a chunk of cloud over Rarity's canteen and squeezed, letting a small waterfall pour downwards and into the container. She repeated the process for Virgo, herself, and finally, Applejack. They took a seat on the ground, removed their helmets, and began to sip and plan.

"How much further is it, sir?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"About five kilometers, but we're too far south. We need to head north by six degrees, or we'll walk right past it." said Virgo.

"How do you know? I haven't seen you look at a map once since we started." said Rarity.

"I don't need maps. The earth itself gives all the direction one needs. I'm the only one who seems to be able to see it." sighed Virgo.

"With all due respect, I've taken more than my fair share of navigation courses, and I know all about the clues left by the earth. I still don't know how you can be so exact based off of trail depressions and fauna."

"Who said anything about trail depressions? I never took any nav courses. It's all a part of my talent." said Virgo. "Trust me on this one. When we start moving, I'll get us going on the right path. In the meantime, we should devise a plan of attack. I'm open to suggestions." To Virgo's surprise, it was Applejack who spoke up.

"He'll probably be in or near a river or creek. Baltimare is chock-full of em." said Applejack. "We should probably get him to tha water. That way, Second Lt. Rainbow can pick em off with some thunder clouds. If we can't get em to the water, Ah think we should have Dash stay back and cover us while we go in with a 2/1 attack formation. Ya'll, Rarity and Lt. Col. Virgo, will teleport behind tha enemy while I attack from tha front. Ah pressure em back so ya'll can finish em."

Rarity took a deep sip from her canteen, turned to Applejack, and emptied the rest onto her head. Cold water ran down Applejack's head and neck, and she sat in shock, mouth agape.

"Are you done?" asked Rarity. "Do not speak. Your voice infuriates me. And another thing: you will address me as Lt. Rarity, or Miss Rarity. You will show me respect, you disgusting animal."

"While that was a rather solid plan, I was mostly asking Rarity." said Virgo. "But, in fairness to the Earth Pony, her plan is surprisingly well thought out. We will follow it, and I will not punish you, providing you do not speak out of turn again. Understand, Earth Pony?"

"Yes, sir." said Applejack quietly.

"Very good. Dash, go on ahead." commanded Virgo. "Scout out the area. Remain hidden or we will lose the element of surprise. That is all."

Rainbow flapped into the sky and shot forward. She zoomed away, and vanished from sight. In a few moments, she returned. Horror painted her face as she dropped to the ground and hastily returned her armor.

"Has anypony seen this guy?!" asked Dash. "He's huge! I think he might be one of those carnivore Earth Ponies."

"Those ain't real." said Applejack. "Us Earth Ponies can digest meat bout as well as y'all unicorns and pegasi."

"I've heard the stories. A bunch of Earth Ponies got really angry a while back and just stopped growing food." insisted Rainbow Dash. "They let all the crops die to kill the unicorns. They survived on rabbits, cows, chickens, and stuff."

"Ah don't know who in tha hell told ya that load of malarkey, but they was lyin. Ah ain't never meet no Earth Pony who sees a chickity and thinks its grub."

Virgo gestured for his team to fall silent, an order they obeyed swiftly. He broke out into speedy jog with his teammates on his heels. Virgo pulled a knife from his belt and twirled it in his hand in preparation. He rose up a grassy hill and dropped to one knee. Near the base of the hill was a mammoth Earth Pony in heavy purple armor, about four heads taller than Virgo. Not much of him could be seen, but his coat was as black as coal, and his eyes were small, fierce, and blood-red. He had a thin, crooked scar running down his chin, past his adam's apple. Virgo wondered how far down the scar went, and if he could exploit it in some way. In his right hand was a huge flail and, in his left, was a shield made of glittering lavender steel that was about as tall as he was. Virgo noticed, above all else, that Brute Strength had a large hoop of gold pierced into his nose.

"Did I tell you or what?" whispered Rainbow Dash. "He's giant!"

"I have larger Earth Ponies working on my plantation." said Virgo. Burnt orange light surrounded his horn. "As soon as Lt. Rarity and I are gone, you two are to attack in the way that makes you most comfortable. Dash, keep yourself above him at all costs. Elevation is key. Earth Pony, strike swiftly and sharply. Keep him close to the base of the mountain. Rarity, with me."

The team nodded in agreement. Rarity surrounded her horn in an aqua glow and drew her claymore. Applejack pulled her morningstar from her hip and gripped it tightly while Rainbow Dash aimed her bow down the mountain, with three arrows drawn in the string. Virgo smiled slightly. His team wasn't perfect, but he could get them in shape.

_POP!_

_POP!_

Three arrows stuck Brute in his lower back, slipped in through the chink in his armor. He spun to discern the source of his attacker only to be met with the hilt of a sword to the back of the head. He let out an angry growl and swiped his shield back, smacking Rarity back a few feet.

"Marias!" bellowed Brute Strength. He raised his flail and brought it down, aiming for Rarity. She rolled out of the way and stabbed forward while Virgo slashed down on his chest. Virgo's knife barely scratched Brute's thick armor.

"You think you can just ambush me? In my own territory?" growled Brute. "Typical unicorn arrogance!" He grabbed Rarity around the waist with one hand and flung her up the hill. She crashed into Applejack and they tumbled down grass.

"Is it arrogance if it's justified?" asked Virgo. He jumped back to avoid Brute's flail, then dodged to the left, the right, and back again. Virgo could see why they called him "The Beast from the East"; He fought like a rabid, savage animal. Of course, Virgo saw him as that anyway.

"The only thing justified will be when I break open your skull and paint my rivers red!" shouted Brute. Virgo threw his knife with all of his might. The blade scratched Brute's chin without much effect.

"Why don't you shed some of that armor?" asked Virgo. He swung his hoof into Brute's leg, again with no effect. An arrow hit Brute's armor and broke without even scratching the surface.

"I'll take off my armor when I'm done taking off your skin." responded Brute. His coat suddenly faded from black to blood red, and his eyes began to glow. He let out a blood-chilling shout and swung fiercely four times into Virgo. The Lieutenant Colonel flew to the side, landing in an aching heap next to Applejack and Rarity.

"Why are you still sitting here?" grunted Virgo. "Get up and help."

"Apologies, sir." said Rarity, rising to her hooves. "It's unconscious. Don't bother trying to wake it. We will be lucky if it wakes before next week." Virgo pulled another knife from his belt before pushing himself to his hooves. His head swam, so he took off his helmet, letting his golden-tipped locks blowing gently in the wind.

"Perhaps the 2/1 plan wasn't such a good idea." said Virgo. "I'll have to stop treating it's advice as gospel."

"YOU CANNOT IGNORE ME, MARIAS!" bellowed Brute. He dropped his shield to the ground and grabbed his flail in both hands. He rushed forward and swung, just barely missing the Marias. Virgo kicked at Brute's left ankle while Rarity stabbed at his right knee, bringing him to his knees. Virgo delivered an elbow to Brute's forehead, and his helmet flew back. The red painting his coat faded, but stayed vibrant on his long, shaggy mane.

"I will not be defeated here!" said Brute Strength angrily. He tried to push himself back to his hooves with much difficulty.

"Whatever magic you used has drained you of your energy." said Virgo. "You can't even stand."

"I don't need to stand to rip you apart!" Brute grabbed Virgo by the throat and raised him up into the air, constricting his windpipe. Virgo choked and gasped, fighting for air. Dark, pulsing red tinged the corners of his vision. His fighting died down slowly as the air left him. Rarity slashed at Brute Strength with all her might without doing more than angering him. Virgo slapped at Brute's wrist one last time.

An arrow soared through the air. The sharp metal pierced Brute's throat, splattering blood onto the floor. His grip failed, and Virgo hit the ground at the same time as Brute.

"Hell yeah!" shouted Rainbow Dash from atop her hill. "Do I get a promotion or what?" Virgo chuckled in spite of himself.

"We'll see, Dash." croaked Virgo. He hacked out a cough and pushed himself onto his hands and knees. "Rarity, check him. Make sure he's dead."

A hand slammed into Virgo's side, throwing him on top of Applejack's unconscious body. Brute Strength rose to his feet yet again with his coat, mane, and eyes glowing emerald green.

"My Vitality has saved me from many kill-blows." growled Brute. "You will fall, Marias."

Virgo raised his head slowly, dizzily. He could Rarity's blurry figure swiping at the massive frame of The Beast. He saw her claymore shatter against Brute's armor. Brute threw Rarity into the dirt and stepped over her body with his flail held high above his head.

"Die, unicorn scum!" bellowed Brute. Pain stabbed at his face, sharp, deliberate pain in his nose. He dropped his flail to the ground as his nose ring pulled to the left, in the direction of Virgo. The ring jerked suddenly and pulled right from Brute's face. He let out an animalistic groan of agony, and gripped his face to halt the blood. Virgo dropped the ring from his hand and leapt forward, burying his shoulder into Brute's side. He took a knife from his belt and it launched forward, stabbing through Brute's left wrist and pinning it to the ground. He pressed his hoof against Brute's throat and glared at him with contempt. Virgo's eyes had changed. His left was belted with thin lines of red while his right was surrounded by strands of blue.

"My talent, Lt. Rarity, is a skill that nopony else will ever be able to possess. I am Virgo of Magnetism." said Virgo. He pulled a knife from his belt, which flew into Brute's ankle. "I have the ability to give a positive or negative magnetic charge to most any object." He fired another knife into Brute's remaining arm and leg. "I can sense and manipulate magnetic fields, which is what let me steer us here. And I will not stand here and let one of my soldiers be murdered by a filthy Earth Pony."

"Murder? This is war!" shouted Brute in agony. "She would not be a victim. She would be a casualty!"

"Flint." said Virgo, pulling another knife from his hip. "Give me a chunk of flint, and cover the Earth Pony with as much plant matter as possible." Rarity's horn began to glow, and a shard of dark grey rock rose from the ground. Virgo grabbed it and teleported away. He returned a minute later with a handful of dead twigs, which he scattered across Brute's chest.

"What are you doing to me, unicorn?" asked Brute, struggling to pull himself from his crucifixion. Virgo muttered a strange phrase under his breath, striking the flint with his knife.

"Speak up, dammit!" growled Brute. "Do you not even have the backbone to say what you have to say directly to me?"

"I offer to you, oh powerful Maker, a blaspheming, sinning, barbarian Earth Pony." said Virgo. "May it rest with it's makers; In the depths of hell!" He swiped the flint one last time, sending a spark onto the twigs. The kindling caught quickly, the fire spreading without regard for whether it was wood or flesh fueling it. Brute's screams drowned the sounds of the crackling flames licking his flesh.

"May it's sacrifice please you." said Virgo. "Dash! Grab the Earth Pony! We're returning to Fort Canterlot!"

Virgo grabbed his helmet and returned it to his head. He returned his knife to his belt and sighed. The bands around his eyes vanished as Virgo of Magnetism silently began the long march to Canterlot Castle.


	5. Chapter 5

Scarlet looked at the giant wall of weapons and felt extremely overwhelmed. She saw swords and shields and bows and arrows and things she didn't know. She reached for a sword when Twilight slapped her hand.

"Not so fast, kid." said Twilight. "There is an order to this. Just because you passed your physical assessment doesn't mean you can just pick up a sword and kill some Marias. First, you have to undergo a psychological evaluation, then you have basic training, then you have to be assigned to a squad, _then_ you have to be assigned a phoenix-"

"A what?" asked Scarlet. "What's a fee- A fee… What?"

"A phoenix is a type of bird. They're immortal birds who control fire. Whenever they die, they burst into flame and are reborn from the ash." explained the General. "We use them to send messages. Well, most of us do. I personally have a dragon, but there aren't very many of those."

"So what's this sikalo… evalua… Sorry, I can't say it. Just tell me what to do."

"I'm going to ask you some questions, and you have to answer honestly. Let's begin." said Twilight. "Do you have a history of violent acts?"

"Define violent acts."

"Already off to a great start." said Twilight sarcastically. "I mean have you ever unnecessarily attacked or attempted to attack somepony?"

"Well… I wouldn't call it unnecessarily…" said Scarlet. "Okay, so remember how I told you I was a thief? I lied. Well, I didn't lie, but I didn't tell you the truth."

"That clears it up." muttered Twilight.

"I'm a thief _now_, but I wasn't always. Before, I was a… competitor in a sort of illegal fighting ring." said Scarlet sheepishly. "Every two weeks I would go into the ring and fight until I either dropped or swept the competition. I never killed anypony, honest, only bashed em up. Are you upset? Are you going to turn me in? Please don't, I really want to help you fight! I swear, I'll never do it again! I-"

"I don't care. You know how to fight? Perfect. You're joining the army, kid. Fighting is about seventy percent of our job." said Twilight. "Moving on, have you ever experienced depression? To be clear, I'm not asking if you've ever been sad. Sorrow is a normal, even vital part of being alive. Have you ever been so sad and distraught that you did something to harm yourself? Skipping meals when you could be eating? Cutting your wrists? Attempted suicide?"

"I don't even know what that last one is. I couldn't just stop wanting to be alive." said Scarlet. A memory flashed by, of blood painting the skin of an already red mare. "She would be so disappointed."

"And this brings me to my next question. Have you ever heard a voice or seen something that wasn't there?" asked Twilight. "As in lasting hallucinations. Have you ever seen somepony that nopony else could see?"

"No." said Scarlet honestly.

"How about voices?" asked Twilight. "Whispers? Shouts? Promises? Have you ever heard a voice telling you to do something you didn't want to do?"

"No, nothing like that. Sometimes, though, I do hear this voice. It's not a halloocey-whatever. It's a memory, I think." said Scarlet. "I'm not sure, cause I was really young when she died, but I think it's my mom. I hear her sometimes, just in the back of my head. Is that bad?"

"No. Well, yes. It's terrible. But not unexpected." said Twilight. "War orphans tend to have those types of memories. I won't make you talk about it. Mostly cause it's none of my business. So, if you're ready, let's start your basic training."

Scarlet nodded excitedly. She was ready to get her hands on some sort of weapon and learn how to use it. Scarlet wasn't sure what sort of training she would be going through. She always imagined something like push-ups and running races, crawling through the mud and fighting dummies. So it came as a huge shock when Twilight ran forward and tackled her to the ground.

"What are you doing?!" yelped Scarlet. Twilight pinned the little filly to the ground with all the force she could muster.

"In the heat of battle, you will be thrown into unpredictable situations. You didn't expect me to jump on your chest like this." said Twilight. "Push me off." Scarlet pushed, but Twilight didn't budge. "Come on. I know you're stronger than that! Why are you holding back? Do you think the Marias will hold back?"

"I'm trying!" shouted Scarlet. She suddenly felt her chest get lighter, as if a huge weight had been lifted. She pushed up, and Twilight floated off of her, drifting down to the ground gently.

"Did you use your power?" asked Twilight, pushing herself to herself to her hooves. "That's not what I meant, but I should've been more specific. Very good, Scarlet Force. You passed the first test."

"First?"

"Of many. Now we're going to do something a little more sensical than random tackling, although you should be prepared for such surprise attacks at any time." said Twilight. "For now, we're going to have a little sparring match."

"A what?" asked Scarlet. She noticed that she was very often confused when she spoke with the Sparkle-Hearts, especially when speaking with General Twilight.

"A sparring match is a friendly fight between two comrades for the purpose of training one or both competitors. In this case, you'll be learning how you prefer to fight and I'll be learning how to help you fine-tune your combat." explained Twilight. She smacked her armor-plated chest. "So go ahead. Hit me."

"What? No!" said Scarlet. She tapped her finger against Twilight's armor. "If I punch this, I'll break my hand!"

Twilight let out a sound that sounded like a groan spliced with a cough, then started untying her armor. Her purple chest pieces fell to the ground, revealing a thin black undershirt. She kicked off her boots and tore off her leggings. She pulled down the leg of her black pants and spread her arms wide.

"Better? Now, come on! You wanted to be a Heart? Show me if you have what it takes!" said Twilight. Scarlet cracked her knuckles and brought her fists up to her face. She swung her fist into the side of Twilight's head, staggering the general. Twilight jumped back to avoid Scarlet's heavy jabs, then returned with her own quick hits.

"I'm going to teach you the three steps you should go through during every fight." said Twilight, strafing to the right. "Evaluate, Assimilate, Compensate."

"What?" asked Scarlet. She rotated and rocketed a punch for Twilight's face. She leaned back, but Scarlet's fist still scrapped the bridge of her nose.

"First step: Evaluate." said Twilight. She slapped Scarlet lightly across the chest. "Study your opponent. Keep an eye on what moves they make and how they make them. Keep this up until you can read their movements a move and a half before they make them. For example, I know that you're a stationary brawler. You like slow, heavy, telegraphed strikes. You don't like to move your legs. Low center of gravity, so you use it and anchor yourself as best you can. This way, it'll be hard for me to sweep you and get you to the ground, where I can dispatch you with ease."

"How were you able to guess all that?" asked Scarlet. She leaned forward and jabbed at Twilight, barely catching her jaw.

"I don't guess. I Evaluate. Next step is Assimilate. The best way to defeat an opponent is to copy their fighting style." said Twilight. She stopped moving and bent her knees slightly. She blocked Scarlet's heavy straight and returned with her own.

"Why?" asked Scarlet, leaning back to avoid Twilight's slow, heavy jabs.

"The average soldier knows how their fighting style works. This does not mean in any way that they can combat it. You are demonstrating this in spades." said Twilight. She took a step forward and swung her fist to the left. Another step, and she swung to the right.

"Maybe I'd be doing better if you actually taught me something first." muttered Scarlet. She couldn't do anything but block Twilight's heavy strikes.

"Last step. Compensate. You've studied your opponent, you've copied your opponent, now the last step is to fill in the holes." said Twilight. She threw out a heavy fist, then jumped to the left and stuck Scarlet's middle with three light hits. "Alter the style and make it your own. I'm adding my own moveset to yours."

"I think I get it." said Scarlet. She leaned back to avoid a punch from Twilight, then jumped forward into a punch of her own. Twilight staggered, and Scarlet hit her lightly four times in the stomach.

"Good. That's enough for now. There's still so much to learn, and nowhere near enough time to teach it." panted Twilight. "Remember, you need to keep up mobility. Movement is key. If you can maneuver around the battlefield, you control the battlefield. If you control the battlefield, you control your opponent."

"Keep moving. Don't sit still." said Scarlet under her breath. She wished she had something to write all this down with. Then, she wished she could write.

"Another thing: Your comrades are your comrades for a reason. There's no reason, especially at your young age and inexperience, to rush in without your team." said Twilight. She stared at the wall of weapons in thought. "They have your back and you have theirs. The strength of the wolf is from the pack."

"Strength of the wolf is the pack. Got it." noted Scarlet. "What now?" Twilight grabbed a longsword from the wall, and tossed it to Scarlet.

"Catch."

Scarlet gripped the heavy sword in her hand. The blade was about three feet in length, only about two feet shorter than Scarlet herself. Scarlet held it upright and swung it through the air. She lost grip of it and the sword flew through the air, just barely missing Twilight.

"Thanks. I was just saying to myself 'Gee, the base has been feeling too safe lately. I don't have enough risk of death in my life'." said Twilight sarcastically. "Save that for the enemy, okay?"

"Right, sorry."

"It was partly my fault. In hindsight, giving a three foot sword to somepony who's five feet tall may not have been the best idea." said Twilight. She lifted another, shorter blade, a bastard sword just over half the size of the longsword. Scarlet took it from her and gripped it tighter, swung it slower than before.

"This feels weird. It's heavy, but not heavy enough." said Scarlet. "I don't like it." Twilight took the sword back and replaced it on the wall.

"You should never use a weapon that feels uncomfortable if you can help it." said Twilight. "That's a good way to get yourself killed. You need something heavier, right?" She lifted a war axe from the wall and lowered it gently into Scarlet's hand.

"Geez! Do people really fight with these?" said Scarlet, struggling to hold the axe. After a moment of effort, she dropped it to the ground. Twilight once again admired Scarlet's strength; A normal filly of that size would've dropped the axe immediately.

"Not for you. This was always my least favorite part. Your fighting style doesn't suggest that you'd be the type for a typical broadsword." said Twilight. She began to pace. "That said, you don't seem to like any of the heavy hitters. What do we have that's sort of in the middle?"

"What about that?" said Scarlet, pointing to a mace on the wall. She grabbed the shaft, solid, cold, and steel, and lifted it from the hook on the wall. She grabbed the head of the mace, her finger tracing one of the six sharp waves jutting outward.

"That is a flanged mace. Two handed. It's heavy and made for powerful blows." said General Twilight. "How does it feel?"

Scarlet gripped the leather handle of the mace tightly with both hands. She swung to the left, then the right, then straight down. Scarlet smiled and twirled the mace in her hand.

"It feels right." answered Scarlet. "I think we found the one."

"Good. Now pick another one." said Twilight. "Only a fool goes into a fight with one weapon. You need at least two."

"You didn't have two weapons when you saved me." said Scarlet.

"That's different." said Twilight. "I myself am a walking weapon." Scarlet rolled her eyes dubiously. "Hey. Watch yourself. See this?" Twilight tapped the tip of her horn. "With a single thought, I can heat your skin to a temperature rivaling the sun. My head is full of combat spells, magic that you couldn't even understand."

"If you're so good, how come this war is still going?" asked Scarlet. She added quickly, "No offence."

"Just saying 'no offence', doesn't actually remove any offence." said Twilight. "And the war is still going because I'm just one person. Not even I can single-handedly stop a war. Magic doesn't solve everything, but I suppose you wouldn't know that, being an Earth Pony." Twilight sneered at Scarlet. "No offence."

"You're sounding an awful lot like that Solar-Maria guy from the other day." said Scarlet. "Virgil, right?"

"That's two mistakes, kid. First, never compare me to a Maria." warned Twilight. "Second, never disrespect your enemy. We may disagree with their ideals, but it is their right to fight for them. Furthermore, they are children of the Maker, and to mock them before battle is a sin." Scarlet raised an eyebrow in surprise at Twilight's ideology, as well as her sudden appearance of religious beliefs.

"Wait, wait, what? I thought only the Marias worshiped the Maker." said Scarlet. "The Hearts believe in her too?" Twilight rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"The Hearts don't believe in anything, as a whole." explained Twilight, her patience thinning. "That's mostly the reason for the fight. We believe everypony should be free to decide who they worship, if anyone. I, as well as a good chunk of our forces, do believe in the Maker, but that's not to say you must. I just don't talk about religion very much, and I don't often call her 'The Maker' when I do. Almost everyone agrees that her proper name is 'Faustia'. Queen Faustia."

"I don't really believe in anything." said Scarlet. "Guess I never really had time."

"I wouldn't go sharing that with anypony, okay?" warned Twilight. "Our goal is peace and religious fairness, but if the troops see that you don't have any religious beliefs… They may not be as trusting as I am."

"So even among the ones who don't judge, I'm being judged?" asked Scarlet. Twilight pursed her lips together, then clicked her tongue.

"Come on. You need a secondary weapon. How about some gauntlets?" she asked. "Big metal gloves. I have some in my barracks. I think they'll suit you. You can't use them at the same time as your mace, it'll slip right off the steel, but we can work around it. Sound good?"

"Uh-huh." said Scarlet. She decided that the Sparkle Hearts, while preferable to the Solar-Maria, weren't perfect. She followed Twilight out of the armory, thinking all the while about what to reveal about herself. She finally settled on nothing; She would say nothing to anypony about herself unless necessary.

"Tread lightly in the army, kid." said Twilight. "Try not to make any enemies outside of the Maria. If you feel like your opinion might be unpopular, keep it to yourself and go with the flow. Don't ask, don't tell."

"Isn't this supposed to be about freeing Equestria, so that everyone has the right to their own opinion?" asked Scarlet.

"You ever heard of a social contract? It's when people give up some of their rights in exchange for protection from the government." said Twilight. "When you enlisted, you signed that social contract. You're a dog of the military now, and you have to flow with the current, or else we're all screwed."

"I can't read or write. How could I sign anything?" said Scarlet, tilting her head in confusion. "And I'm not a dog. I'm an Earth Pony."

"It's a metaphor."

"I really don't get it. In this place of freedom of choice, I have to make the same choices as everypony else?" asked Scarlet. "Then how are we better than the Marias?"

"We're not. This isn't about supremacy, at least not for us. The Marias want the Earth Ponies to be dirt, but not us. We're-"

"Better than that?" offered Scarlet. Twilight pursed her lips again, this time with a tinge of amusement to go with her annoyance. This stupid, ignorant, immature, uneducated Earth Pony was giving her more food for thought in two days than all of her subordinates and equals had in years.

"No. We just think differently. Nopony says we're better." said Twilight.

"Nah, but we all think it." said Scarlet.

"Look, if you don't want to be a Heart, there's the door."

"I said 'we all think it'. That means me, too." said Scarlet. She grinned at Twilight, who, for the first time since they met, returned a small smirk. That was enough to let Scarlet know that she had made the right choice, that the Sparkle Heart Clan was where she needed to be.


	6. Chapter 6

Virgo heard the shouting. It was impossible for him not to. He knew that just on the other side of The Throne Room's doors was a veritable warzone. He also knew that he could not interfere. To come in between the two Generals arguing would result in loss of rank, clean-up duty, and many, many broken bones. Virgo always considered himself intelligent, and it wasn't exactly brain surgery to choose what to do. So he decided to sit and wait with his back against the door until the fighting died down so that he could debrief with the sisters.

"When is enough enough, Celestia?" Luna shouted. "We cannot continue doing this forever!"

"We will not have to, Luna! Give it time, and I assure you it will pay off in spades!" returned Celestia angrily.

"Time is not something we have an overabundance of!"

"That is redundant. If you wish to argue your point, speak properly." shot Celestia.

Virgo shifted uncomfortably. If Celestia wasn't his higher-up, he might've have informed her of how petty that jab was.

"I will speak how I so choose, and you will listen!" roared Luna.

"If you continue, please do not affiliate yourself with me. You sound like an Earth Pony."

Virgo bit his lip and quickly stepped to the left. He put his hands on top of his head, covering his ears. Even still, he heard General Luna's loud, hysteric shriek and the loud crash of the door flying off of the hinges and slamming into the wall. Virgo blinked slightly at the smoking burn plastered across the door when Celestia stomped out of the room. She watched Virgo's sheepish, half-hearted salute and left without a word. Virgo cautiously peeked his head through the door, then quickly ducked a jet of cerulean light.

"Leave, Celestia! Since I am so-" Luna stopped herself when she realized who was there. "Ahem. Right. Lt. Col. Please, come in."

"May I ask what that was all about?" said Virgo, stepping into the Throne Room.

"My sister and I have our disagreements. Do not concern yourself with it." sighed Luna. "She will come around soon enough. Enough about my petty family issues. I take it your assassination of Brute Strength went well?"

"Yes, ma'am. My team and I are prepared to move on the next target at your command." reported Virgo.

"Hm. What do you think of your team?" asked Luna.

"Rarity is proficient enough, but needs to learn to clear her head. Rainbow Dash is talented as well, but is a tad too brash and arrogant for this sort of work. And the Earth Pony? Well, it's an Earth Pony. Not more to say there."

"Interesting. Now answer my question." said Luna. "I did not ask for facts. I want to know your opinion."

"Honestly?" said Virgo. "Applejack is the most competent of the three. She's rather well-versed in strategy, from what I can tell, and she is surprisingly intelligent. Even still, I am not too confident that my team is where it needs to be."

"What do you think is the problem?"

"Inexperience. This is supposed to be a close-knit squad, and they hardly know each other. Rarity can't even say Applejack's name without gagging. In time, I'm sure that they'll learn to respect, maybe even like each other."

"Hm. I certainly hope so. It'd be a shame if they were to fail." said Luna said forebodingly.

"I agree. The pieces are all there, but only time will bring them together." said Virgo. He spared a nervous glance at the door, then back to the General.

"When should we move on the next target?" asked Virgo.

"That's what we were arguing about." said Luna. "My sister is so adamant about the Twilight Sparkle situation. She is convinced that she will defect. I think you should kill her now, while Celestia believes that you should eliminate the targets. What do you think?"

"I believe that Twilight Sparkle would be a valuable asset, if and when we ever acquire her." said Virgo carefully. "I believe that she can be swayed, and that she is a threat until such time as she does."

"Celestia claims to know what she is doing, but I am not so sure." grumbled Luna.

"We both know that is not the truth." Virgo scratched his chin awkwardly. "If you truly believed that General Celestia was making a mistake, we would not be having this conversation. You would have simply put an end to it."

Luna sighed. The fallen door was gripped in dark blue glow and floated back to it's hinges, where it was reconnected to the rest of the frame.

"Oh, powerful Maker, forgive me for tainting this Holy Room." said General Luna, pushing her palms against each other.

"I will go assemble the team and bring them here for debriefing." said Virgo.

"Do not bother. I already gave your team directions to move on without you." sighed Luna. She was ashamed of herself for acting so foolishly. "I have a separate assignment for you."

"Oh. Very well. What will you have me do, ma'am?" asked Virgo uneasily. He didn't like the sound of his team doing anything without him, but he had little choice.

"We have intel suggesting that Twilight Sparkle will be moving a squad of three down to Manehattan. Your job is to intercept them, discover the reason for their journey, and eliminate them. The obvious exception, of course, being Twilight Sparkle."

"I will depart now." said Virgo. He saluted the General, who, to Virgo's confusement, saluted back. She nodded slightly, and Virgo turned for the door. He pulled the newly fixed door and began down the hallway to his barracks. He met with a split in the corridors and turned left, nearly slamming into Applejack. She quickly saluted Virgo, and held it until Virgo gave her a nod.

"Earth Pony." grumbled Virgo. To his surprise (and slight annoyance), the Earth Pony began walking alongside him.

"Master Virgo, Ah have a concern." said Applejack. "Bout an hour ago, General Luna told me and Dash ta find Lieutenant Rarity. She said that you weren't gonna be with us for tha next mission."

"Correct." said Virgo. "What of it?"

"Ah don't really feel safe on a squad with just Dash and Lt. Rarity."

"They are perfectly capable for whatever General Luna assigned you to do."

"That's not really mah problem. Lt. Rarity hates me. A lot. More than a unicorn normally hates my kind." said Applejack. Virgo understood, and nodded his agreement. Rarity did had an insane amount of animosity for the Earth Pony.

"She wouldn't do anything to hurt you. She understands how important you are to the Maker." said Virgo.

"Does she, though? And besides, _she_ might not try sumthin, but who's ta say that Ah don't have some sorta unfortunate accident? Even if she had nuthin to do with it, she wouldn't help me. A squadmate is supposed to be somepony who is ready ta lay down they life fer you."

"Check yourself, Earth Pony." growled Virgo. "You seem dangerously close to implying that you are an equal. Understand, Earth Pony, a thousand of you isn't worth a unicorn. Maker's mark or no, you are still less than nothing. Rarity doesn't have to do anything for you.'

"Sorry, sir." said Applejack.

"Now get out of my presence, before you regret insulting me like you did." Applejack saluted, then scurried off. Virgo shook his head angrily and went on his way to his barracks.

* * *

><p>Rarity tried her best to ignore Rainbow Dash's question. She didn't even look up from the blade she was cleaning. All Rarity could do was continue wiping her claymore with her greasy rag. Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow, shot Applejack a sideways glance, and repeated herself.<p>

"Who did they kill?" said Rainbow again. Rarity stared into her own reflection gleaming from her sword, then dropped it gently in its sheath on her back.

"Dash, knock it off." said Applejack. "Ah told ya, she's fine. She's in tha right."

"No, she's not. Just because she's a unicorn doesn't mean she can walk all over you like that." said Rainbow Dash defiantly. "Besides, this goes way beyond Master Race mentality."

"Be quiet." said Rarity finally. She reached to her hip, withdrew a knife, and began wiping it with the same rag.

"No. You have an extra reason to hate Earth Ponies. Who did they kill?" asked Rainbow.

"I will report you to Virgo for harassment. Leave me alone."

Rainbow Dash leapt forward and snatched the knife and rag from Rarity before flapping her wings and hovering just outside of the lieutenant's reach.

"Dash, leave her alone. Ah don't care what she says, just give her the damn knife." said Applejack. "'Fore she sticks one in mah neck." Rarity stomped her hoof angrily then turned, not to yell at Rainbow, but towards Applejack.

"Shut up! Shut up, you big, dirty, stupid beast!" shouted Rarity. "I do not need help from the likes of you! Your kind has amounted in nothing but trouble! When will you learn that you are not helpful! You are not wanted here! Just leave!"

"But what about tha Mark?" asked Applejack.

"Maker be damned, I refuse to work besides the… the things that…" Rarity seemed to be battling herself not to say what she had on her mind. "Do you have any idea how long I've hunted your kind? How many Earth Ponies I've killed?"

"Nah. Ah really don't." said Applejack sullenly. "But Ah'm willin to put on anything that Ah've killed more."

"Well, poor bloody thing! Was that supposed to make me feel bad?" asked Rarity. "Its good that you're killing the filth. We have too much here, and who better to kill a brute than a brute herself? I'll be right there with you, butchering your kind just as I was meant to, as soon as I get my knife back!"

"I'll give you your knife back if you promise not to be so terrible to her." said Rainbow, lowering herself to the ground. "Shake hands. Now."

Applejack awkwardly extended her hand, expecting for Rarity to turn on her heel and disappear from the barracks. To her surprise, she gave Rainbow a sideways look and took a step towards Applejack.

"Knife first." ordered Rarity. Rainbow Dash pressed the knife into Rarity's hand and grinned, proud of her peacekeeping skills. Rarity slid the knife onto the sheath on her hip and took another half-step towards the Earth Pony. Instead of accepting her handshake, she turned her chin up slightly. With a loud, hissing, unladylike noise, she spat harshly at Applejack's face. Rarity drew the knife again and stepped towards Rainbow Dash. She grabbed the pegasus around the back of the neck and pressed the blade of her knife against her throat.

"Next time you are given an order, follow it." said Rarity. "Just because Virgo finds your antics amusing does not change the fact that you are a filthy mid-born!"

"And here I thought that I should be worried." growled a voice from the door. Rarity swore under her breath and dropped her grip on Rainbow Dash and stood straight in a stiff salute. Virgo strolled through the door and surveyed his team with a raised eyebrow.

"So many things to talk about, and I have no time for any of them." said Virgo, shaking his head. "Dash, I'll give you points for a solid attempt, though I must advise you to withhold your bribe until after the conditions have been met."

"Right. Sorry, sir." said Rainbow sheepishly.

"I can hardly chastise the Earth Pony for being spat on, can I?" sighed Virgo. "Rarity. I am severely disappointed in you. Even though Dash is a rank beneath you, I would have liked to think that you had enough respect and restraint to save your knife for the Sparkle Hearts."

Rarity bit her lip in frustration, both at her team and at her own short temper in regards to the Earth Pony. Just as she opened her mouth to explain, Virgo silenced her with a cold glare and a raised palm.

"Do not defend yourself. Ensure that it does not happen again." said Virgo. "You should be leaving soon, according to General Luna. Good luck on your mission and, remember, Rarity is the head of the team for this mission." Rainbow Dash scoffed and rolled her eyes, inciting a snarl from her new team leader.

"Which means that she takes full responsibility for the mission's success," Virgo glanced at Rarity, then Applejack. "And its failure. If something goes amiss during this mission, it will be solely on Lt. Rarity's head."

Virgo gave Applejack a look that resembled a smile and nodded to his team before disappearing through the door. Rarity fumed angrily, pointing her blade madly at Applejack.

"You! You had something to do with this!" growled Rarity. "Now you're going to fail on purpose, to get me in trouble!"

"Ah hadn't thought of that. Mighty fine plan." said Applejack smugly. "Ah would never do sumthin like that, if'n you were to apolergize."

"Bite me." spat Rarity.

"Was that an order? Cuz Ah'll be happy ta 'blige ya, Miss Rarity."

"Shut up and fall in line. Gather your gear. You will prepare yourselves and we will rendezvous outside of the Castle in ten minutes." said Rarity. "I am quite punctual and you will be left behind if you are not ready to depart when I say so. And the Earth Pony carries all of the extra gear. A job fit for the pack mule you are."

Rarity spat at Applejack again and stomped away, fighting away the urge to cry. She looked to the sky and swore to the Maker that they would pay, that those dirty, rotten, evil beasts would pay for what they did.


End file.
